Stealing Ruby

Ice Cream

"I swear, they do this to me on purpose. Every time, without fail. Remind me again why they had to stop for ice cream on the way?" I ask. "There are more important things to life then ice cream, you know." I have been waiting here for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes! I could have made ice cream faster then that.

The girl next to me raises one of her perfect eyebrow at me. "Your just jealous 'cause they won't get you any." She accuses. "So? What if I am?" I ask, feeling defensive. She only chuckles. Sarah, better known as Nightshade, was a tall girl with perfect, jet black hair that seemed to never be out of place. She has a constant smooth tan and full rosy lips. Her grey, blue eyes could enchant any man she looked at. In truth she was only about seventeen, but she was already breathtakingly beautiful. That beauty certainly came in hand in our line of work.

Nightshade pats me on the back. "Well, why don't you go and get your own ice cream?" She cooes. "Well-I mean, um, I'm busy in here." I say quickly. Surprisingly, I'm not as talented a liar as the rest of my family.

Nightshade crosses her arms. "As if. You just don't want to have to interact with people." She says.

"Peopleing is not one of my strong suits, and you know it." I retort. I put my arm around her shoulders. "That's why I have you." I say, summoning all the charm and sweetness I could possibly summer, which wasn't a lot. "I'm still not getting you an ice cream." She says flatly.

"But why not?" I whine. "You need to learn to do things on your own and interact with people." She says in a motherly tone. "No I don't." I say stubbornly. "I can live perfectly happy here for the rest of my life. No awkward peopleing involved." This is a fool proof plan.

"Well, no awkward peopleing, no ice cream." She says cheerfully. Nightshade seemed to always be ready to fuel my plans, but I guess that's what best friends are for. Who needs an arch enemy when you have a best friend looking out for you?

I open my mouth to try to convince her or at least get her to get me ice cream, but before I can get a word out the door to the apartment flies open, somehow not making a sound. Four girl walk in, each carrying their own ice cream cone. Molly, a.k.a cherry bomb, walks in and hands nightshade a mint chocolate ice cream cone.

"Hey, why didn't I get one?" I demand. Cherry bomb shrugs. "Nightshade said you needed to learn to interact with people your self. Plus, she threatened us." Nightshade smirks. I frown.

Cherry bomb has red, wild hair and a confident smirk almost constantly on her freckled face. She is the weapons expert. Her hobbies include hiking, bird watching, and blowing stuff up.

Lacy, a.k.a firecracker, walks up to me and pats me on the back. It's in a not so much comforting way as a 'better luck next time, sucker!' type of pat.

Firecracker is our extreme, well, everything. She does extreme sports, from speed boat hijacking to repelling down skyscrapers, hand to hand combat to motor expert. Anything dangerous or insane, she's there. Her short cropped, light brown hair barely brushes her ears, framing her tan face. She has these stormy grey eyes that seem to never calm down, like a storm was always raging inside, ready to be let loose.

Liz, or palm reader, just stairs at me and slowly licks her ice cream, knowing full well how much I long for just one lick. Palm reader is our human lie detected of sorts. Well, she knows a lot more then just when someone is lying. She has a knack with people, being able to tell things about them no one else picks up on. This skill of hers is scary good. She is about five four with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Marry, a.k.a chameleon, just stands there and tries to hold back the laughter I'm sure is just dying to come out. Chameleon is a plane looking girl with dirty blond hair and grayish, greenish, blueish eyes, plus she's a little on the short side. She is the girl you see but forget about, being one of those people that goes unnoticed and is pushed to the back of your mind. In most cases this would be a sad way to live, but it comes in handy when your trying to go unnoticed. This enables her to be able to easily sneak in and out of places and eavesdrop on conversation.

I guess that just leaves me. I'm Ruby, but my team calls me the tinkerer. I'm the one who build the gadgets, hacks the system, cracks the safe, and apparently get denied ice cream as well. In my room, with my technology and team, I am a well oiled machine and smart girl who can build almost anything and break through fire walls as if they were made if stacking blocks. This is my domain. In the outside world, not so much.

I'm a shy, awkward, and extremely clumsy person. Somehow I never trip, fall, or mess up when I'm alone, but when outside there is no where safe from my stumbles. The only people I can be around with out breaking stuff is my family and team members. Otherwise, no one else is aloud in. And I do mean no one.
My hair cascades down my back in gentle blond curls with natural highlights. It always seems to be in these gentle curls that would usually take an hour to perfect. In other words, I hate it. My hair always seemed like nuisance to me, getting caught in this thing or that, falling into my face when I work. Sadly, nightshade ain't let me chop it off. I have a nice sprinkle of freckles on my nose and bright, almost neon green eyes. And no, I don't wear glasses. Just because I'm a computer geek doesn't mean I have to wear glasses. Otherwise, no one else is aloud in. And I do mean no one.

Nightshade bumps me. "So, tinkerer, what's the plan. Why'd you call us here?" I try to ignore the rumbling in my stomach, but it's hard when every one around you is enjoying delicious ice cream and your not.

"Well," I puff out, "let me put it out clear for you." I toss a newspaper onto the table. Everyone gathers around it. I puff out my chest, waiting for their shock and wonderment. Any second now. Just wait for it.

They stare first at the paper, then me. Here it comes. "You want us to be hired as cleaning ladies?" Cherry bomb asks. What? I look down at the paper. Oops, wrong side.
I quickly flip it so that the front page is facing up. Everyone's eyes widen. "No way." I hear someone whisper. Nightshade turns to me. "How do you expect us to steal that?" She asks.

"Well, when you all finish you ice cream, then I can tell you. After your done, meet me in my room. I'll show you the plans."

I turn and start to walk away, but before I make it to the room, Lia's voice reaches me. "How do you expect us to steal the Ruby Key exactly?" I keep walking. "Finish your ice cream and come to my room." I say simply. There is some grumble, but what did they expect when they refused to get me ice cream?